THE AUTUMN COURT.
The Autumn Court of the District of Bedford was opened at Sweetsburg,
Que., on Thursday, August 30th, 1894, and at this session the Sutton
Junction Assault Case was considered. The lawyers in charge of the
case were H. T. Duffy, on behalf of the Alliance, and E. Racicot, on
behalf of the accused hotel keepers. The court room was thronged each
day with eager listeners, and much interest was evinced both by the
temperance and anti-temperance people.
The following account of proceedings at court and other matters
relating to the assault case is from _The Templar_, a temperance
paper, published in Hamilton, Ont., and a large part of this
description was also published in the Montreal _Daily Witness_:
"The excitement in Brome County, Quebec, over the arrest of
several prominent liquor sellers on the charge of conspiring to
murder Mr. W. W. Smith, President of Brome County Temperance
Alliance, increases as the developments are becoming known to
the public. According to the evidence, there remains no longer
any question that Mr. Smith's devotion to Prohibition, and
particularly his determined stand for the honest enforcement of
the Scott Act, which is in force in that county, made him a
shining mark for the vengeance of the men whose trade and profits
were so seriously affected thereby. The confession of Walter
Kelly, the assailant, that he was employed to 'do up' Mr. Smith
because he was a man who gave the hotel keepers much trouble, and
had to be thrashed, as well as the payment of money by Mr. Jenne,
proves the animus of the assault, while the general evidence
indicates a wide-spread conspiracy, embracing others than the
accused, to cause the diabolical crime. The publicans of Brome,
and, indeed, the liquor traffic as a whole, lie under the
terrible suspicion of sympathy with this crime. It is not beyond
the traffic. Its record is traced in blood as well as tears. _The
Templar_ is quite ready to believe that there are men in the
business who would shrink with horror from the very thought of
engaging in such a deed of blood, but the assault upon Mr. Smith,
of Sutton, is the natural fruit of the damnable business, and
those exceptions have not been wholly dominated by the genius of
the traffic. What cares the liquor seller who suffers while he
thrives? The excitement centres at Sweetsburg, where the court is
engaged in hearing the evidence against James Wilson and M. L.
Jenne, hotel keepers at Sutton and Abercorn, who are charged
with conspiring to murder Mr. Smith. The preliminary hearing
began last Friday morning. People had come from all parts of the
surrounding country, and several newspaper people from across the
line, male and female, were on hand.
"The Magistrates occupying the bench were Messrs. C. H. Boright
and G. F. Shufelt; Mr. H. T. Duffy was prosecuting attorney, with
Hon. Mr. Baker as counsel. Sheriff Cotton was also present. The
prisoner, John Howarth, was represented by Mr. E. Racicot, and
was in court.
"Howarth is an American, and still a young man. He is closely
shaven, and wears his hair cropped short. He came here about
three years ago, with a stallion worth about $1000, in which he
owns a half interest. The man who owns the other half still lives
in the States, and by means of tedious litigation has been trying
to get his share. This man at present lives with the Jennes, at
their hotel at Abercorn. He is one of the principal figures in
the case, because he, it is said, was the man to whom the entire
management of the attempted murder was entrusted.
"Mr. Smith is a medium-sized man, with a heavy blonde mustache,
and is a fluent talker, who evidently is very much in earnest in
his temperance work. He seems to possess the lives of the
proverbial cat; but many people here prophesy that they will not
be of avail to him much longer--meaning thereby that the liquor
men will yet be the death of him. This does not seem to worry him
much, however.
"Kelly is a well built man, a little over medium height, with
dark brown hair, restless, dark eyes, and a small mustache,
turned to a needle point at each end. It cost a great deal of
time and trouble to locate him; once nabbed, he turned Queen's
evidence.
"Mr. W. W. Smith was the first witness. His testimony consisted
in a description of the assault as our readers are already
familiar with it. He narrated how he had warned the hotel keepers
against breaking the Scott Act, on pain of prosecution, and how,
by interposing on their behalf, he had saved many of them from
prison. He concluded his evidence with a description of Kelly's
attempt to murder him. Every eye in the court room was fixed upon
Walter Kelly, the man who committed the murderous assault, as he
entered the witness box. It was generally known that he had
turned Queen's evidence, and would tell a thrilling story. He
took the situation very coolly, and after explaining that he had
been a bartender in Marlboro, Mass., gave the following
testimony:
"'Some time before the end of June last, I was shown a letter by
a man named Flynn, which requested him to come or send a man to
do a job, and it was stated that there was good money in it. The
letter was written by a man named Howarth, who resides at
Abercorn, P. Q., in the county of Brome. Neither Flynn nor myself
paid much attention to this letter, as we did not understand the
meaning of it. About the end of June, the same man showed me a
second letter, which he had received from Howarth, also
requesting him to send a man on the next morning to do a job
connected with the liquor business, and he asked me to go, as
there was good money in it--about two hundred dollars--and I
agreed to go over. He then instructed me to go to a man named
Willard, whom Howarth had instructed to give me the money to pay
my way, or give me a ticket. I went to Willard, and told him that
I was going to Canada to do a job for some parties there; that
Howarth had sent for me to call on him for the money to buy the
ticket to go there, and that he would repay him. Willard gave me
ten dollars, and I bought my ticket, and came on to Abercorn. I
started towards the hotel there, when Howarth drove up,
recognized me, and asked me to get into his wagon. He drove me to
Jenne's hotel, and there introduced me to Mr. Jenne as a Mr.
Stewart. While at the hotel, Howarth told me he had sent for me
to thrash a fellow named Smith, who lived over at Sutton
Junction. He said that he was a mean cuss who drank all his life,
would drink whenever he got the chance, was all the time running
after the women and, to cover up his deviltry, he goes round
preaching temperance, and raising the devil with the hotel
keepers. They wanted to chase him away and get him out of the
business. Howarth went on to say that Smith, who is station
master at Sutton Junction, was so mean that people cannot ship
goods to that station without their being opened, looked over and
their contents reported to the temperance people. They had, he
added, reported Smith to the company, and his discharge had been
ordered. I asked Howarth what about the money for doing this job,
and he answered, "Don't fear; everything is fixed, and you will
be well taken care of." In the afternoon, Howarth took me to
Sutton, and we called at Curley's hotel, and went from there to
Lebeau's, where he introduced me to a man named Lebeau, who owns
a race course, as a Mr. Stewart, a horse buyer from Boston. I
then rode with Mr. Lebeau and drove his horse, staying round
there until the evening, when I went back to Curley's hotel, and
had supper. I did not pay for it, and was not asked to pay. I
went to Sutton, purchased a ticket for Richford, where I met
Howarth in the afternoon by agreement, received fifteen dollars
from him and had a long conversation regarding the job I was to
do, after which Howarth went back to Abercorn. I, however,
remained over night at Richford, and next morning took the train
for Sutton. I then went to Mr. Wilson's hotel, and remained there
for two or three days. They asked me no questions in regard to my
board bill, they did not seem to care whether my bills were paid
or not, and they were never paid by me. I remained there until
the horse race at Knowlton, to which I went with Mr. Wilson, and
where I expected to meet Howarth with a team for me to use, but I
did not find Howarth at Knowlton. I left Knowlton the same night,
and rode back to Sutton, to Wilson's hotel, with a man whom I met
at the races. A day or two following, I was supplied with the
team, which was fed and cared for free of charge at Curley's and
Wilson's hotels. This team was supplied me for the purpose of
driving to and from the Junction in order to meet Smith. The
night I committed the assault on Mr. Smith my team was at
Curley's hotel until 9 o'clock in the evening, when I ordered it
to be harnessed. I then started for the Junction, and on the way
I met a man a short distance out of the village, whose name I do
not remember, but I would probably recognize him if I saw him
again. I was supplied with a disguise of clothing, which was put
into my buggy when the team was sent to me. I do not know who put
it there, but Howarth gave me to understand that it would be
there.
"'Some talk transpired between myself and the parties engaged in
this matter as to what weapon I should used to beat Mr. Smith,
when it was suggested, I think by Howarth, that a piece of lead
pipe would be a good thing, and when I opened the bundle, I found
a lead pipe in it. I saw that it was a piece of new pipe, and I
battered it to give it an old appearance. There was also a new
hat in the bundle. When this man got into my buggy, I drove to
Sutton Junction, where I waited for Mr. Smith. After our arrival
there, and until I had committed the assault on Mr. Smith, the
man who drove with me from Sutton kept the team waiting for me
about one hundred rods from the station. I saw Mr. Smith arrive
at the depot about 10.30 P. M., and after putting the team up, he
went into the station with four or five men. I watched Mr. Smith
until all the men had left, the last two going north on an
engine, after which I saw Mr. Smith lie down on a settee. After
some time I entered the room, where he was lying, and struck him
over the head with the pipe, which was in my possession. His head
moved on the pillow, and when he started to rise, I struck him
again. We then clinched, and had quite a severe struggle during
which I lost my hat and the lead pipe. I then freed myself from
Mr. Smith, and disappeared, running to where the team was waiting
for me. We drove direct to Sutton, where the fellow jumped off,
and I kept on to Richford, where I left my team at the American
hotel, telling them that it would be called for. On the way to
Richford after having committed the assault, I called at Jenne's
hotel, Howarth having told me that on my way back the money would
be left with Jenne to pay me. When I arrived there I called to
him, and after a few minutes he came, and I asked him if there
was some money there for me, and he said, "Yes," and at the same
time he went back and brought out fifty dollars, which he gave
me. I asked him where the rest of the money was, and he said:
"Only a part of it had been collected; give me your address, and
we will collect it and send you a money order." This money order
I have never received. At Richford I hired a team and drove to
what I thought was about half way to St. Albans, where I stayed
all day Sunday, and took the night express for Boston. The bay
horse and open buggy, with yellow running gear, were furnished me
by Howarth a few days previous to the assault. The team was
engaged by Jenne at the livery stable in the rear of the American
House, Richford, and the young man who drove the team on the
night of the assault was young Jim Wilson. He left me at Sutton,
and I was instructed to leave the team at the Richford livery
stable above mentioned, which I did, and the same livery man whom
I asked for another team to drive me to St. Albans, or a part of
the way, hitched up a team and sent a man with me whose name I do
not know. When I drove up to his place that Sunday morning, I
awoke him and said that I had brought back his horse which I had
been using for the last few days, and I also told him that this
party would settle for it, and he replied, "All right."'"
In this testimony of Kelly's we see the evidence of a preconcerted
plot in which many liquor men, both Canadian and American, must have
been initiated. It is an important fact also that the man entrusted
with the execution of their lawless plans was himself a bartender.
From the evil account of Mr. Smith's deeds, which Kelly says was given
to him on his arrival in Canada, it appears that the enemies of
temperance are not contented with taking the property of their
fellow-men as they often do in different ways, they are not even
satisfied with inflicting bodily injury and suffering upon those who
oppose their ways, but they would blight their reputation, and this,
too, is no small injury, for in the words of Shakespeare:
"Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name,
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed."
The announcement also that the liquor men had reported their enemy to
the railway company, and that his discharge had been ordered, is
significant in the light of later events. The complaint made by them
to the company seems from the above to have been that Mr. Smith was
examining goods shipped into the county by way of Sutton Junction, and
this, we are assured, was a false report. However, it seems probable
that, if the hotel keepers had not been receiving illegal goods in
this way, they would not have been so suspicious. Another account of
Kelly's testimony was published in the Montreal _Daily Star_. Omitting
those parts which do not differ materially from the report in _The
Templar_, this report is as follows:
"The reason that Kelly did not get his hundred and fifty dollars
for half murdering Mr. W. W. Smith, it appears, was 'that he did
not half finish his job;' at least that was the reason given in
another letter of Howarth to his friend Mr. Flynn in the United
States, who showed it to Kelly. It is left to the imagination as
to what the result would have been if he had finished the job.
Kelly's testimony occupied all the afternoon, and he stood the
ordeal extremely well. Mr. Racicot tried to shake him, but in
vain. He told his story in a straightforward manner, and it
showed how easy it is even in our present civilized and advanced
age to get rid of or punish people without running personal risk
of bodily injury if you go the right way about it. The case is
also a forcible reminder of the truism that the laborer is worthy
of his hire, and that things done on the cheap are apt to turn
out badly....
"That night he drove in the vicinity of a friend's home, where he
was told that Smith was not at home. He went with the intention
of seeing Mr. Smith. If he had met him he would have licked him
then and there. He always stayed at the Wilson's, when he had
nothing better to do, and they did not charge him anything. He
was convinced that the Wilsons, though they did not say so, knew
perfectly well what he was doing. Kelly met Smith once at the
Sutton Junction station while he was on the train. The night of
the attempted murder he asked Jim Wilson to drive him. Wilson
must have know what Kelly was going to do, for the latter
undressed while they were driving together, and put on the
disguise, and Jim Wilson must have seen him put the lead pipe in
his pocket. Wilson waited for him with the rig, while the drama
in Smith's station-house took place. Kelly then rehearsed the act
himself, varying but little in the story from the version given
by Mr. Smith. The remainder of the story finished....
"When he was half way to St. Albans he sent the Richford team
home and hired another on the road. He took the train at St.
Albans to Boston, and from there returned home to Marlboro. He
met Howarth at Marlboro afterwards, and Howarth said that he
would see about the money. He then spoke to Howarth's friend
Flynn and the latter wrote. In reply he got back a letter from
Howarth, in which the latter said: 'Kelly did not half do his
job, and all the others are kicking at me.' At any rate, Kelly
did not get his one hundred and fifty dollars. Mr. Racicot then
took him in hand and tried very hard to tangle him up. He
commenced by trying to break down the force of the evidence of
the letters, which Kelly claims Howarth has written, and which
Kelly claims he had seen. Of course he had to admit that he could
not swear they were written by Howarth. Next, his efforts were
directed to words trying to prove by Kelly's testimony that the
assault was not a murderous one. Partly to protect himself,
partly because he believed it the truth, Kelly then was compelled
to testify that he was not asked and had not undertaken to kill
Mr. Smith. He never told any one that he had, and did not intend
to kill him or do him serious injury. The murderous-looking gas
pipe club on exhibition on the Judge's Bench gave this part of
the testimony a rather sarcastic tinge. In continuing, he got
Kelly to say he did not think he had hurt Smith seriously, but
simply that he had fulfilled his contract. It came out that,
while living in Marlboro, Kelly was a barkeeper, and was seen
drinking with others in a hotel. There is apparently a good
opportunity for missionary service of the sort Mr. Smith delights
in in Vermont. He was asked to go into lengthy details as to how
he was arrested, brought from the States by Mr. Carpenter and
treated while in his custody, and said that he expected to take
his chances on being sent to jail or penitentiary. When his
testimony was finished a wrangle took place between opposing
counsel as to whether or not prisoners should be admitted to
bail. Mr. Duffy opposed in so far as Howarth was concerned,
because he was an American, and because once at liberty he would
approach the other conspirators and frustrate the ends of
justice. Finally Howarth was remanded till Wednesday. Jenne was
allowed out on nominal bail, and Kelly remanded to the custody of
Mr. Carpenter. Some more arrests and some more verbal and very
interesting documentary evidence is promised for Wednesday."
[Illustration: Walter K. Kelly, Marlboro, Mass.]
The statement of Kelly that he did not intend to kill Mr. Smith, and
was not asked to do so, has a decided look of absurdity when viewed in
the light of the various circumstances surrounding the assault. If he
simply intended to "lick" Mr. Smith, why did he attempt it in such an
unfair and cowardly way? Why did he, when the object of his assault
was asleep, attack him with a weapon which might cause death? And why,
having such an advantage over his victim, did he begin at once to
pound his head? This is a very dangerous way to administer a whipping!
Moreover, if the hotel keepers of the vicinity only wished to have Mr.
Smith pounded, it seems strange that not one of their number was
willing to undertake the task himself. Or, if not, why did they not
hire some ruffian who could be induced to give almost any man a
pounding for a smaller sum of money than that promised to Walter
Kelly, and, besides, might have supplied his own necessary outfit, and
save them the trouble and expense of providing board, team, weapon and
disguise of clothing.
Again, the liquor men should have known that such a course would not
be likely to help them very much, for any man who is sincerely in
earnest and seeks the prosperity of a good cause, will not be likely
to stop his work because of a slight pounding. There are many things
in this world not easy to understand or explain, and this affair seems
to be one of them, but, of course, it is a lawyer's business to work
for the interests of his clients, and prisoners usually consider it
their privilege, when in the witness box, to work for their own
safety.
The testimony of Mr. Smith, which had been begun on Friday, and had
given place to Kelly's evidence when he arrived from Montreal, was
resumed on Wednesday, Sept. 5th, when the case was again considered in
court. The following report of Wednesday's proceedings was published
in the Montreal _Daily Witness_:
"The preliminary enquiry into the Sutton Junction attempted
murder case was resumed this morning before Messrs. C. H. Boright
and G. F. Shufelt, J. P.'s. The court room was crowded, and much
interest was evinced in the progress of the case. Mr. W. W.
Smith, continuing his evidence, described his struggle with
Kelly. The first blow rendered him partially unconscious, and
apparently was not repeated for two or three minutes. A second
and third blow was given with the lead pipe, but, owing to his
having clinched with Kelly, they did not have the effect of the
first. During the struggle, both men got out on the station
platform, and eventually rolled from the upper to the lower one,
Smith all the time calling out 'murder,' and Kelly breaking loose
ran away. He was positive that it was Kelly's intention to kill
him, not merely to give him a beating.
"He recognized the lead pipe as the weapon Kelly used, and also
the hat was the one he left behind in the station.
"He went to Marlboro on August 25th, and identified Kelly, whom
he saw drinking with three other men at the bar of the Central
House.
"He travelled from Fitchburg to Montreal with Mr. Carpenter, and
was present in the former's office, when Kelly acknowledged to
having committed the assault.
"Two other witnesses testified to having seen Howarth and Kelly
together at Sutton, on May 24th, where it was given out that the
latter was from the United States, and was buying horses. It was
also in evidence that Kelly was seen at Curley's hotel, Sutton,
on the evening that the assault was committed."
After these witnesses were heard, the case was put over until Spring,
to be considered and decided by the Court of Queen's Bench, which was
to be held at Sweetsburg, in March, 1895. Kelly, Howarth and Jenne
were committed for trial at that time. Jenne was released on bail, and
application was made for bail to be granted for Howarth also. This was
refused by the magistrates, and Mr. Racicot then applied to the Judge,
being opposed in his application by Mr. Duffy, the lawyer for the
Alliance.
Judge Lynch carefully considered the matter in its social and legal
aspects.
He brought up several cases in the history of the country in which
application for bail had been refused, recited the general principles
which had governed the various judges in making these decisions, and
concluded his remarks thus:
"It only remains for me now to apply these general principles,
which have received the sanction of our highest courts, to the
present case, and cannot better do so than by asking myself the
questions which were submitted by Judge Power, as being the basis
of his conclusions in the Maguire case.
"What is the nature of the crime charged against Howarth? Is it
grave or trifling? It certainly is not trifling, it is one of the
most serious known to our law, being nothing less than an
accusation of an attempt to commit murder. 2d. What is the nature
of the evidence offered by the prosecution, and the probability
of a conviction? I prefer not to discuss or consider now the
strength of the evidence which was adduced before the
magistrates, to which alone I can look. It apparently presents a
strong case, and if it is believed by the jury, and not rebutted
by other evidence, it would, in all human probability, lead to a
conviction. 3d. Is he liable to a severe punishment? Yes--to
imprisonment for life. In face, therefore, of the answers which I
am obliged to give to the foregoing questions, I cannot hesitate
as to my duty in this matter. It is important in the public
interest that Howarth should be present in court, and stand his
trial on the charge preferred against him, and nothing can or
should be allowed to interfere to prevent this from taking place.
"It might possibly be otherwise were bail allowed, and I cannot
take the responsibility of such an occurrence. The application is
refused."
From these words of Judge Lynch we see clearly how very serious a
matter this assault case must have seemed to him at that time. After
this decision Kelly was again placed in custody of Mr. Carpenter, and
returned to Montreal, where he was kept in prison, while Howarth
passed the winter in Sweetsburg jail.
Meantime, some of the members of the liquor party took advantage of
the excitement which this assault had caused by trying to frighten
other temperance people. One man, Allen C. Armstrong, living in the
neighborhood of Sutton Junction, who had been an aid in the work of
locating Kelly, awoke one morning to find upon his doorsteps a
miniature coffin, which bore an ominous inscription, giving his name
and the record of his death (without date), and calling him a "Sutton
Junction detective." Also, anonymous letters were reported to have
been received by two men in the same vicinity, viz.: N. P. Emerson,
Vice-President of the Alliance for the township of Sutton, and J. C.
Draper, President of Brome County Agricultural Society, who was also a
member of the Alliance, bidding them beware lest they also suffer in
the same manner as Mr. Smith.
It may have afforded a degree of satisfaction to a certain class of
people to thus add fuel to the fire already kindled by the liquor men,
but their cause will certainly never triumph through any such acts as
these, for there will always be some in the ranks of the temperance
party who will be willing to work the harder the fiercer roll the
flames of opposition.